The use of steroids could have caused the death on Wednesday of famous Russian showman, bodybuilder and actor Vladimir Turchinsky at the age of 46, local media reported on Thursday.
Turchinsky aka Dynamite was a professional bodybuilder and had multiple power world records in different weightlifting classes. He headed the Russian Federation of Extreme Sports.
Turchinsky also starred in many Russian movies and hosted a number of TV shows.
So far, a heart attack remains the chief preliminary cause of his death, and medics have yet to prove if he had used steroids, Novye Izvestia said.
Doctors dismissed the speculation that a blood purification procedure Turchinsky had undergone in a Moscow clinic not long before his death had provoked a heart attack. Cardiologists told the paper blood purification was an absolutely safe procedure removing toxins that could have accumulated from the use of steroids.
Turchinsky set several Guinness records, including moving a 26-ton Ruslan plane, lifting a 3.5 ton elephant, and dragging a 20-ton double-decker bus for 100 meters with his left hand.
Turchinsky is survived by his wife, a son and daughter. He will be buried in Moscow on Friday.
MOSCOW, December 17 (RIA Novosti)
